Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Associated Press reports:
CLAIM: Votes were eliminated in Arizona because people were made to use Sharpie pens to mark their ballots. This caused the tabulation machine to cancel the vote.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Sharpies were allowed in Arizona but they do not affect the vote. And even if a ballot could not be read by a tabulation machine, it would be reviewed by a board that re-examines the ballots. The vote would not be canceled.
THE FACTS: Following the race call on Wednesday that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden had flipped the Republican-stronghold of Arizona, social media posts circulated suggesting that their votes for Trump were canceled because they were told to use Sharpies at their polling site.
The claims are being spread by GOP Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar [photo], CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp, and thousands of QAnon nutbags.
TikTok in particular has been overwhelmed with viral clips claiming that Democrats colluded with Arizona poll workers to “trick” voters into using Sharpies.
Back the blue. Now. Phoenix supports our law enforcement and our president. @Cernovich @michellemalkin @courrielche @kelliwardaz @AZGOP @RepDavid pic.twitter.com/fyvW0goZK3
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) November 5, 2020
This is propaganda and misleading. The issue is that hundreds of people who voted with sharpies have checked online and their votes were not counted. There may be an issue with the machines reading the sharpie. Authorization to use is not the issue and is misleading. pic.twitter.com/nuUiwm6Zt5
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) November 4, 2020
I’ve just requested @GeneralBrnovich to look into this issue. We can not tolerate voter fraud in Arizona. #Election2020 https://t.co/GyWiek7ClA
— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) November 4, 2020
#SharpieGate Dems poll workers gave Republicans in Arizona sharpies to fill out their ballots knowing the machine won’t tally a sharpie mark. https://t.co/kWvTouqHFn
— Melissa Tate (@TheRightMelissa) November 4, 2020
#SharpieGate reported in Michigan ? pic.twitter.com/w143BMFuYv
— Students For Trump (@TrumpStudents) November 4, 2020
Members of extremist group AZ Patriots came in the Maricopa Co. Elections Center live streaming – one wearing a military vest.
They’re angry about #SharpieGate claiming the county changed pens within 24 hrs. This is NOT true. They were kicked out, still arguing outside #azfamily pic.twitter.com/xA0SYtxXB4
— Briana Whitney (@BrianaWhitney) November 5, 2020